The Dawn
by coldgravy
Summary: A more serious, canonical depiction of beloved characters Aug and Serana from Fat Dragon: the story is canon to the events of Skyrim, and thus the characters are more serious and mature; plus the rest of the Fat Dragon characters have no involvement whatsoever. Basic plot is about how Aug and Serana form a strong relationship as time goes on, eventually leading to marriage.
1. The Dawnguard

"_You have found our fortress..."_

"_You have returned my daughter..."_

"_But what is it you seek?"_

…

That was a question Aug, the savior and living legend of Skyrim, had to invest a lot of time in thinking about.

Aug was the Dragonborn, or the Dovahkiin, who finally defeated the evil dragon, Alduin the World-Eater, putting an end to the reign of terror that the dragon was about to unleash across Nirn, even into Sovngarde, where Aug had slain his dragon foe. But although he didn't initially know that he was Dragonborn, he did realize that his destiny, his purpose, had been fulfilled. So Aug sought more meaning into his life, deciding to venture around his spiritual homeland, and see what else the gods had provided for him to do to serve his homeland, and more importantly, himself.

And he did just that. Aug had encountered, joined up with, and saved everybody in the factions and guilds of Skyrim: the College of Winterhold had been protected from Ancano's wrath, and in the process naming Aug the arch-mage, even though he was more of a warrior than a mage; the Companions of Whiterun, which was the first thing he joined, had avenged the death of their honorable, elderly leader Kodlak Whitemane at the hands of the notoriously deviant Silver Hand, which resulted in Aug being gifted with lycanthropy as well as being named Harbinger of the Companions, which was a high honor; and a prestigious title; the Thieves' Guild, which had been suffering for quite a bit of time, had been restored to its former glory when Aug killed the treacherous leader, Mercer Frey, and then became a Nightingale, an agent and defender of the Daedric Mistress of Stealth, Nocturnal; and even joined up with the murderous Dark Brotherhood, killing countless targets for high profit, including Emperor Titus Mede II, whose security force had nearly thwarted their plan by exterminating the majority of the Dark Brotherhood. Aug, being a true Nord, opted to join arms with the Stormcloak rebellion, and ended the war 2 months later, storming through the enemy headquarters in Solitude, confronting General Tulius and Legate Rikke before executing them in an honorable fashion; liberating his homeland and restoring it to its proud, strong, pure Nord form, eventually planning to take the fight to the high elves which oppressed and dictated his kind.

But there was just something missing within this man. Aug was a fabled legend in Skyrim, basically immune to arrest in any hold due to the high honors and status he held, but usually operated alone when going on missions, for two reasons. The first was that Aug always opted to go on the most dangerous assignments; they paid the highest, and for Aug these kinds of ops were a walk in the park. Any hireling, housecarl, or ally that went with him on these suicide missions almost never came back alive. Only one had survived a quest with Aug, a Nord mercenary named Stenvar from Windhelm, who was forced to retire due to lethal injuries suffered during a mission to recover an item stolen by the Falmer, who were formerly a race of elves, known as the snow elves due to their snow-white skin and resistance to freezing temperatures.

The other reason why Aug was always alone was because his bloodlust, which likely came from his lycanthropy, made him a heartless, inhumane sociopath, who enjoyed slaughter and murder, and had little to no care about the feelings or well-being of his companion. At one point after restoring the Blades, one of the two leaders, Esbern, had given Aug control over their small taskforce of Blades on a mission to slay a dragon, and when the dragon savagely killed all of his troops, Aug didn't even flinch. All that mattered to him was money, power, and murder. He was a good follower, however, and obeyed every order given to him by a superior. Aug had received a nickname for his heartless demeanor; "Ghost", and people would talk behind his back about how "he wasn't human", or, "he was never loved or been in love", and things like that.

So Aug was a pretty lonesome fellow. His closest friends were his dual ebony war axes, nicknamed "Sephora" and "Sulaco", and there were very few people that mattered to him. But Aug still felt meaningless and lonely, and on one cold night in Riften's Bee and Barb tavern, Aug was trying to cover these wounds with flagons of mead. Good mead, Black-Briar mead, to be precise. But something unexpected came running up to him. An orc with sage-colored skin, who was wielding some bizarre weapon and wearing interesting armor, came up to Aug, and said, "You there. The Dawnguard is looking for recruits to fight the vampire menace. What do you say?"

Aug was amazed that someone was actually talking to him, and impressed with himself for not lashing out viciously at the male orc.

"What's the Dawnguard?" asked Aug, who had no clue that another major faction existed.

"We're vampire hunters", Durak explained, "We search out and destroy those bloodsucking scum wherever we find them."

Now this definitely sounded like something Aug would enjoy. Being a werewolf meant that he was unable to contract vampirism, and this was another warrior's guild, only dedicated to exterminating vampires.

"Killing vampires?" Aug asked, "Where do I sign up?"

"Ha", Durak smiled, "Isran's gonna like you. Fort Dawnguard is located just southeast of here. Isran'll decide if you're Dawnguard material."

Aug's mood brightened up, for he now had another goal, another purpose, and this one was a major one that would be doing Tamriel a massive favor, saving countless souls.

"Off to Fort Dawnguard, then", Aug said, standing up and preparing to set off for Fort Dawnguard and then be able to butcher vampires all the time and possibly received payment for it.

…

Despite being a sociopath with no regard for the lives of others, Aug still was a human being. Aug appreciated natural beauty and nature, and was enjoying the pleasant, relaxing morning in the autumnal forests of the Rift. The leaves, both on the trees and falling off of them, were countless shades of brown with the least little touch of orange or yellow-ochre in them. The wind was blowing normally: not violently, but just a normal breeze which rustled the oaks and birch trees, blowing numerous leaves off. In the distance, Aug could hear the cries of an elk or two, the howling of a single, lone wolf, frogs croaking, and crickets chirping, which was a nice soundtrack to the lovely scenery surrounding him.

Heading down the road leading to the border of Hammerfell, Aug eyed a crevice, an opening in the cliffside, with a little dirt trail marked by two torches; the most likely locale for Fort Dawnguard. Aug slowly walked up the path, breathing deep and exhaling the fresh, fresh air before walking through the crack, which lead through a tiny cave. Glowing mushrooms littered the cave walls, lighting the path for Aug to follow.

Aug stepped out into a glacial canyon, which still retained the autumnal feel and atmosphere of the boreal forests surrounding Riften, and strolled through the canyon, eventually spotting a young, blonde boy in farm attire. Much to Aug's dislike, this boy was quite friendly from the looks of it, and actively began conversation with Aug.

"Oh, hey there", Agmaer smiled, "Here to join the Dawnguard, too?"

Aug nodded.

"Truth is, I'm a little nervous. I've never done anything like this before", Agmaer said, sweating a little. "Is it alright if I walk up with you?"

"No", Aug said, not wanting anything to do with this annoying twit. Aug turned around and resumed to proceed to Fort Dawnguard, and meet this Isran that the orc had mentioned. Speaking of the orc, Aug heard this loud, fast noise, which sounded like an arrow with an incredible speed achieved, and it was Durak, the orc, who was testing the bizarre weapon that he had been wielding the night before.

"What's that you're shooting with?" Aug asked, wanting to know more about this ranged weapon that might render bows obsolete.

"Never seen a crossbow, eh? Doesn't surprise me. It's kind of a Dawnguard specialty", Durak explained. "Here", he said, handing Aug the crossbow he had been firing as well as the pack of bolts he had. "Might want to get used to how to use a crossbow before you join the Dawnguard", Durak recommended. "Try shooting at that stump right there; it's great practice."

Aug equipped his new weapon, loaded a steel bolt into his crossbow, and took aim at the target, aiming with one eye closed for better depth perception. Aug squeezed the firing handle on the underside of the crossbow, and the bolt struck forwards, hitting the stump, which was 20 feet away, in under a second. There was recoil, but not too bad. Aug was lightly knocked back, but not too severely. Aug took a couple more practice shots with the crossbow, working to improve his accuracy and precision, before continuing ahead to meet and speak with Isran.

…

"So who are you?" the Redguard with a glass eye and long black beard asked, "What do _you_ want?"

"I'm here to join the Dawnguard", said Aug.

"Got a fire in your belly to kill vampires? Good", Isran laughed. "We need more people like you."

"I'm here to kill vampires", Aug said. "Is there any payment?"

"Yes and no", Isran replied. "Isn't the gratitude and good feeling knowing that you're saving lives from those bloodsucking swine payment enough?"

"I suppose it is", Aug said. "Name's Aug, by the way. Isran, I presume?"

"Correct."

"So, Isran, can you point me in the direction of any vampires, or give me a combat assignment?" Aug asked, eager to begin mass-murder of vampires and their thralls.

"Vigilant Tolan here was just telling me about... Tolan, tell him about, what was it? Dimhollow?" Isran asked, turning to look at a robed man with impressive sideburns who was also present in the main chamber of the fort.

"Yes, that's right", said Tolan, "Brother Adalvald was sure it held some long-lost vampire artifact of some kind. We didn't listen to him any more than we did Isran. He was at the Hall when it was attacked."

"That's good enough for me", said Isran, "Go and see what the vampires are looking for in this Dimhollow Crypt. With any luck, they'll still be there. There isn't much yet, but feel free to poke around the fort and take anything you need."

As Aug walked away, nervous farm boy Agmaer entered the fortress, shivering nervously. "You there, boy", Isran said, beckoning to the nervous lad, "Stop skulking in the shadows and step up here. What's your name?"

"My, uh, my n-name is Agmaer, sir", Agmaer nervously replied.

"Do I like like a 'sir' to you, boy?" Isran harshly replied, "I'm not a soldier, and you're not joining the army."

"Yes si- Isran", Agmaer said, correcting himself.

"Didn't I tell you to step forward?" Isran repeated. "Hmm... farm boy, eh? What's your weapon?"

"My weapon?" Agmaer replied. "Oh, I uh just mostly use my pa's axe, when wolves are attacking the goats or something."

"'My pa's axe'!" Isran laughed, "Stendarr preserve us. Don't worry, though, I think we can make a Dawnguard out of you. Here, take this crossbow and let's see how well you shoot."

…

Aug had since departed Fort Dawnguard, eagerly awaiting arriving at this crypt mentioned by Tolan, for it was the site of significant vampire activity. Aug had been traveling by foot for 4 hours, first heading directly west through the mountains into the lush pine forests of Falkreath, taking a short pause in Riverwood for a quick drink, passing by Whiterun, through the mountain range which served as the border between Whiterun Hold and Hjaalmarch, and was now heading up for Dimhollow Crypt.

His voyage was interrupted when a dragon, which had caught Aug by surprise, decided to try and bring down the lone human, even though the dragon was aware that his potential prey was the Dovahkiin. The dragon soared overhead, roaring loudly as it circled back around to use a breath attack on Aug, who drew his weapons and locked his eyes onto the giant flying lizard. When the dragon started using its Thu'um at Aug, Aug instantly recognized it as a blood dragon, which were still quite easy for him to kill. Still, battling dragons was a rewarding, fun challenge, the true test of a warrior's courage. Being Dragonborn gave Aug an unfair advantage over his serpentine opponent, but for the thrill and honor of the hunt, Aug used none of his Shouts and powers against his enemies unless if absolutely necessary. The dragon swooped around, and came in for a landing, nearly crashing down on top of Aug, who dove out of the way. Aug roared his battle cry, and charged the blood dragon head-on with an axe in each hand. The dragon lunged forwards, attempting to eat Aug, but Aug performed an expert, flawless backflip, landing away from the dragon's maw. Aug quickly charged forwards, using all of his strength to hack and slash away at the dragon, who roared in pain. The dragon's eyes smoldered with rage, but Aug spun around and violently smashed the dragon in the eye with one of his axes, which clearly did significant damage. The dragon was enraged, and made one last lunge to wolf down Aug, who leapt up onto the dragon's snout, stomping on the dragon's nasal cavities, before hopping back and repeatedly stabbing the dragon in the brain with his combat dagger, which finally brought the dragon down. The dragon roared in agony as its skin began dissolving and burning, its soul being absorbed by the Dovahkiin. About 10 seconds later, the skin and soul of the giant reptile had been completely wiped clean, leaving only a massive skeleton of the deceased dragon.

With that issue taken care of, Aug resumed his trek to Dimhollow Crypt in search of this artifact that had been the hotspot of vampire activity. This trek was long, but not boring, for one could never know what exactly was lying ahead. Heading down the path, which had been rendered invisible by the thick blanket of snow, Aug eventually had another encounter: a hooded figure in glass armor with a tail came running up towards Aug with two daggers equipped. It was an Argonian, and Aug verified this when the thief came up to him, threatening for him to hand over his gold and gems, or the Argonian would skin Aug like a rabbit.

"I don't have time for this", said Aug, shoving the Argonian out of his way,

"Don't you walk away from me!" the reptile hissed, lunging in with his daggers. Aug quickly spun around and kicked the Argonian straight in the stomach with the might of an ox. The Argonian stumbled momentarily, now determined to stab Aug and leave him lifeless on the frozen roads in a frozen pool of blood, but Aug wasn't going down that easily. Aug quickly decided how he would take out his attacker in a microsecond: take him out with honor, using nothing but a dagger. Aug unsheathed his knife, Mehrune's Razor, which was still coated in the blood of the dragon, and lunged in to retaliate against the Argonian. Both males were growling and roaring ferociously as they violently kicked, punched and slashed eachother. Aug had his next move, one that would win the battle, mapped out. He stood still, waiting for the Argonian to strike. The thief, taking advantage over this, charged at Aug, who ducked down and thrust his blade into the Argonian's side. The lizard growled in pain, dropping to the ground, and as Aug went to finish him off, the thief swung his leg around, tripping Aug. The Argonian leapt back up onto his feet, and attempted to impale Aug while he was downed, but Aug violently kicked the Argonian straight in the jaw, breaking it. And Aug finished the fight by taking his knife and throwing it, striking the Argonian straight in the heart, killing him. Aug pulled his dagger out of the chest of the lifeless lizard, wiping some of the blood off on his gauntlet, before looting the body and recovering a large purse of gold pieces. Hopefully this was the last thing that was going to be ambushing Aug on this road, and Aug needed to get to Dimhollow as soon as possible, for the sun was also setting, and he wasn't exactly too open to have to deal with a shitload of wild animals and outlaws in the dark.


	2. Dimhollow Crypt

Dimhollow Crypt, being located in the frozen salt marshes of Hjaalmarch Hold, was quite icy and snowy when Aug finished hiking up the mountain path and entered the ominously-lit, dark cave where he was sent by his new superior, Isran. It was pretty cold, but because he was a Nord, which had strong resistance to cold temperatures, this cold air had little effect on him. But at this moment, Aug knew he had to tread cautiously and silently; for this area was the site of significant vampire activity for some odd reason, and who knew how many vampires there could be lurking and prowling within these ruins.

Aug overheard conversation between two vampires, who were commenting on the stalwart Vigilants of Stendarr, who had tried to siege the temple but failed. Aug noticed two Vigilant corpses on the ground at the feet of the vampires, one of them belonging to Vigilant Tolan whom he had seen several hours earlier at Fort Dawnguard, who had also died upon entering Dimhollow in the effort to reinforce their comrades. Aug heard the male vampire, who sounded like an elf, mention the destruction of the Hall of the Vigilant, confirming what Tolan had said about the massacre at the Hall.

Aug decided to test out the crossbow and see if it was as effective against vampires as he had been told. Aug had loaded a steel bolt into his crossbow, and took aim at the male vampire, holding his breath in and letting it out when he squeezed the trigger. The bolt traveled at an astoundingly-fast speed, punching straight through the vampire's crimson-colored light armor and deep into his heart, killing him the old-fashioned way. The female vampire, who was standing practically next to him, was put on high alert, and recognized the wound as a crossbow shot; the attacker was either a Dawnguard soldier or another Vigilant of Stendarr. But as Aug went to aim and fire a second shot to dispatch the second vampire, something with incredibly sharp teeth sunk its jaws into Aug's arm. Aug rolled sideways to try to shake his attacker off, and was baffled and somewhat alarmed by the creature attacking him.

A black dog-like creature with massive, red eyes that were the same color as ripe cherries; exposed muscular tissue; sharp claws on its feet; and fangs that were extremely cold and sharp was what was trying to kill Aug. Restraining the death hound by its neck, Aug stretching to grab his crossbow, which the dog had knocked out of his hands. The dog from Oblivion was lunging and snapping, bloodthirsty and focused on plunging his fangs through the neck of the slender Nord hero. Aug finally stretched far enough to grab his weapon, kick the death hound off of him, and before the dog could make another lunge, Aug fired a high-powered crossbow bolt that plunged straight through the dog's forehead. The death hound whimpered in pain briefly before collapsing to the ground dead. Aug, strangely enough, felt sorry for the creature; he was very protective of and thought very highly of canines, and even though this dog was an undead dog, an undead dog is still a dog. But Aug's code that overwrote these feelings was that if he was attacked, he had every right to defend himself.

The female vampire spotted Aug. "Aha!" she shouted, lunging forwards with an iron sword. Aug crouched and rolled, and the vampire's sword plunged forwards into the wall, bending it slightly. Aug tripped the vampire, who fell on her back momentarily, dropping her weapon in the process.

"I love a challenge", the vampire laughed, trying to get back up. But Aug wasn't going to give his prey the chance of winning the duel. Aug raised his leg and with all of his might and godlike strength, stomped down on and snapped the vampire's spinal column. The vampire screamed and hissed in pain and anger, crawling to grab her sword and get even with this guy, and Aug slid the sword over to her hands with his foot. The vampire placed her hand on the grip of the sword, and Aug stomped down on her hand, breaking her hand. The vampire's orange eyes were now red, burning intensely like the massive fires in a giant camp, and making one last effort to pull Aug down and sink her teeth into his neck, tightly grabbed her attacker's leg, leaving his other foot free to kick her square in the face with. The vampire's face was bloody and smashed, her skull dented in and teeth smashed and broken. Aug took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of temporary victory. But Aug knew that sometimes brain was superior to brawn, so he figured that he should study the dead vampires, as well as search the lifeless bodies of Tolan and the other Vigilant that had died prior to Tolan's arrival in case there were any gold, potions or notes of some sort on their bodies.

The bodies of the two priests were pretty much useless; nothing on either except a small coin purse on the body of the first Vigilant, but as an honorable warrior tradition, Aug placed the cold, frozen hands of the lifeless Tolan on his chest. Sovngarde would be welcoming him and Stendarr himself would most certainly reward or bless Tolan for his devotion and unbreakable loyalty to the order. Aug had already gotten close enough with the death hound, so he had no need to cut open and search an undead animal corpse. But these vampires that he had just faced were of importance to the Dragonborn. These ones, in addition to having stylish robes and armor, which apparently came in different color schemes, just seemed different than the average vampire. These ones were smarter, more powerful, and out of the hundreds of vampires Aug had battled, never before were there any this strong and determined. That told Aug two things. The first, was that these vampires, which most likely were from the same clan, were part of a different bloodline than the feral vampires he had dealt with before. And the other thing was that there definitely was something important within the depths of Dimhollow Crypt. Not gold, or treasure of some kind. There had to be more.

_"What are you hiding?"_ Aug muttered.

Aug took a moment to refresh his memory and see if there was anything specific in the conversation between the two vampires before the skirmish. And Aug then remembered hearing one of the vampires say, "Lord Harkon will be most pleased." From the title, Aug inferred that this was probably their king, or overlord, or a high-ranked court member; but either way, he was the one who sent the vampire search party into the dungeon. And these vampires were probably the ones who destroyed the Hall of the Vigilant, slaughtered the Vigilants and murdered Keeper Carcette.

But those vampires weren't going to kill themselves, so Aug holstered his crossbow and armed himself with Sephora and Sulaco, which were eager to be coated in blood.

The gate that lead further into the temple was down, so Aug had to find the switch to open it. Worst case scenario; he could manually tear it down, but he didn't want to if he didn't have to. But like all of the dungeons he had courageously raided, this one wasn't any different; like always it was ancient Nord-built architecture. The switch had to be somewhere, so Aug searched around the room, looking for any secret entrances. His tenacity paid off once again, as he found the switch, an enchanted sword, and some magicka and healing potions. The potions were always a good thing to keep on his person at all times, along with lockpicks and arrows, but now crossbow bolts as well.

The chain was pulled, and a few seconds later the door rose back up, opening the path once again. Aug went out of the small control room, back into the icy cave, and continued to venture through these vampire-infested ruins.

Going into the next area, which was quite dark, Aug faintly heard a vampire's footstep, as well as the creaking of skeleton bones; the vampire's footsteps muffled due to the vampire's natural stealth capabilities. But instead of playing the stealth game, Aug, thirsty for bloodshed, went in charging and shouting, with his trusted war axes in his hands. Obviously the vampire and her skeletons responded to the threat: out of three skeletons, one was an archer, and the other two were simply armed with ancient Nord swords. The vampire was keeping her distance, hitting Aug with shock spells from a range.

With only a single sweep, Aug shattered the two melee skeletons apart with the Sulaco, now targeting the vampire, who charged towards Aug with her backup dagger in one hand and her vampiric drain spell in the other. "I'll drink you dry, mortal!" the vampire shouted. Aug did a power attack, lunging forwards with the Sephora, but the vampire got lucky, blocking his attack and kicking him in the torso, knocking him down. The vampire stood over the seemingly-downed Aug, her eyes glowing as she smirked. But that was the vampire's mistake; she may have disarmed him, but not entirely: Aug always had a trick up his sleeve, or in this case, his gauntlets, and that trick was a Daedric dagger affectionately nicknamed "Lucy". Aug thrust his knife into the vampire's thigh regions, making her drop to the ground; the paralysis poison definitely worked. The vampire dropped her blade as well, which Aug picked up and thrust into the side of her head, blood spraying out like a garden hose. Aug pulled the knife out of her bloody thighs and stabbed it straight down on top or her head. The vampire collapsed to the floor, choking and coughing up mouthfuls of blood. And to verify the death of his foe, Aug violently stomped down on the vampire's face, smashing it in before pulling his crimson-red blade out of the vampire's dented face.

Continuing on with his mission, Aug pulled another lever to open the gate that lead further into the crypt. Going down the tunnel, Aug heard shouting and swords clashing; which indicated that there was a fight already going on. Vampires obviously were part of it, and Aug assumed that it would most likely be Draugr, due to the ancient ruins and burial chambers. This theory was proven correct when Aug spotted a vampire and her death hound engage a trio of well-armed Draugr. The vampire had an additional vampire with her, but the vampire was more than likely slain during the Draugr's ambush. The female vampire and her hound valiantly fought against the undead, but proved no match for the Draugr's heavy armor and stronger weaponry. The Draugr were victorious, and continued patrolling the hallways in search of any further disturbances. Aug decided to take them out quickly, so he switched to his bow, drew an arrow, and took aim at the first Draugr, before releasing the string and sending the high-powered arrow through the Draugr's forehead. The second Draugr obviously reacted, and quickly spotted Aug nearby. The Draugr moved to attack the human with a battleaxe, but Aug dodged each swing, before grabbing the handle of his opponent's weapon and tugging with incredible strength, disarming the undead and pulling it to the floor. Aug kicked, stomped on, and slashed away at the downed zombie, killing it.

With yet another threat neutralized, Aug continued on with the mission on finding out why the vampires were taking so much interest in Dimhollow Crypt.

After slaying an unsuspecting vampire and two skeletons, Aug continued through the catacombs. A dead frostbite spider laid on the ground, and as soon as Aug went to inspect and loot the carcass, he was ambushed by a death hound, which attempted to maul him, but Aug managed to kick the dog in the stomach, knocking it off, before lunging in with the Sephora and bisecting the downed Oblivion-spawn. A vampire rushed around the corner with her iron sword in one hand and her vampiric Drain Life spell in the other, and Aug engaged his new attacker with his dual axes, managing to slice off the hand of the vampire wiith the Sulaco, enraging the vampire, who hissed in pain. The vampire sprinted forwards with her fanged maw open, attempting to lunge in and bite Aug, but she only ended up with a mouthful of dagger which stabbed through her mouth and out of the back of her head, and for one last second, the vampire got the taste of blood, except it was of her own. The vampire's orange eyes rolled back into her head as she plopped down motionless on top of the body of her undead canine.

With another area secured, Aug continued to traverse deeper into the vampire-infested sepulcher, very much wanting to know what exactly it was that these fanatical vampires were searching for. Continuing on, Aug was blocked by a large gate, but a vampire with a slightly different look, weapons, and combat prowess was making his last stand against a massive frostbite spider. This vampire was putting up one hell of a fight, and Aug wasn't sure who would come out on top. The vampire was wielding an elven sword, lunging forwards and making a deep gash into the hide of the enormous arachnid. The spider was jumping forwards, attempting to sink its giant fangs into the body of the master vampire. The vampire made a sweeping motion with his sword, slicing off one of the leg segments of the spider. The spider spit a corrosive poison at the vampire, and the vampire was poisoned and killed, while the spider collapsed dead, exhausted and fatally wounded. After confirming that both parties were dead, Aug pulled the lever to open the colossal gate, and spotted the elaborate entry point into the heart of Dimhollow Crypt, which would most likely be where the majority of the vampires, as well as whatever it was that they were seeking, would be located there; which was also a bad thing to some extent. But Aug had made a lifestyle of slaying dragons, feral lycanthropes, Daedra, Draugr, wild predators, Forsworn, bandits, and Falmer, so dealing with several vampires was not going to be an issue.

Aug popped his neck and his knuckles and fingers, and opened the doorway into the heart of Dimhollow Crypt.


	3. Awakened

Aug entered the center of the crypt, which was a massive cavern with a large lake, which was home to a large pillar with ornate spires. Aug heard voices, both vampire and human, so he crept up to the balcony to investigate.

A shirtless man on his knees with his hands and feet tied was being interrogated by a pair of vampires; one male and one female.

"I'll never tell you anything, vampire", the man said, "My oath to Stendarr is much stronger than any suffering you can inflict on me."

The master vampire was clearly agitated by this, and responded to this by stabbing Brother Adalvald in the forehead with an iron dagger, obviously ending his life.

"Are you sure that was wise, Lokil?" asked the female vampire to her master, "He still might have told us something. We haven't gotten anywhere ourselves with..."

"He knew nothing", Lokil replied. "He served his purpose by leading us to this place. Now it's up to us to bring Lord Harkon the prize." This confirmed that this "Lord Harkon" was the one behind all of this. And Aug had the feeling that he was going to meet this vampire lord soon.

"And we will not return without it", Lokil continued. "Vingalmo and Orthjolf will make way for me after this."

"Yes, of course Lokil", said the vampire female. Do not forget who brought you news of the Vigilants' discovery."

"I never forget who my friends are. Or my enemies."

Watching the vampires push the body of Adalvald onto the ground and walk over to the center of the platform, Aug began to slowly sneak down the stairway to the area where the two vampires were. Aug was a master of stealth, sneaking up literally soundlessly. Aug was not in the mood to deal with a lengthy battle with these two vampires, especially since one of the two was a more lethal, high-classed vampire. Aug took aim at the vampire elf wearing red armor with his new crossbow, aimed, and released the trigger, firing a shot that permeated the master vampire's light armor. Lokil wailed in weakened pain, dropping on the ground with a thud.

"We may feed again today", the other vampire said, licking her lips hungrily.

"Face it, sister", Aug whispered in a seductively threatening voice, "You're outmatched. Outnumbered. Give up while I still give you the chance."

"I've fed on orcs tougher than you!" the vampire roared, lunging straight in with her mace. Aug ducked the mace swing, and with all of his might, he plunged his fist into the vampire's stomach, making her drop her weapon and cough up a small amount of blood. Aug taunted the wounded vampire, offering her a hand, and the moment the vampire accepted this sudden outburst of generosity, Aug slammed his boot straight on the vampire's cranium, clearly causing major damage. The vampire was lying on her stomach, crying, wounded and bloodied, just waiting for Aug to finish her off and end this pain. Aug obliged, placing his foot down on her spinal column and pointing his loaded crossbow at the back of the vampire's head.

And for the first and last time, the female vampire nightstalker knew what true pain was, the pain she and this clan of hers lead by a "Lord Harkon" had been inflicting on humans for untold centuries.

The crossbow bolt blasted a hole clean through the vampire's skull and straight through her brain, instantly and painfully ending her life. Aug hefted the rather-heavy vampire and dumped her corpse over the side rail, where it would sink into the murky dark waters of the crypt, destined to be food for fish and decomposing organisms. Aug did the same with Lokil, but before he tossed the body overboard, he quickly looted the body and recovered a quick note that read, _"Find her._"

"Very tasty indeed", said Aug as he tossed the note and the body of the vampire master into the gloomy, murky water. "What _are _you hiding, hmm?"

In the center of the platform was a small spire; circling around it were five braziers with small purple flames burning in them. Aug went up to investigate, and assuming that the small spire was a switch or button of some sort, Aug placed his hand on it. Unexpectedly, a sharp iron spike shot out, going clear through Aug's hand, and barely missing a vein. The braziers' flames intensified, and purple beams of light rose from the cracks and spaces surrounding the hand trap. A puzzle. Great. Aug had no difficulty whatsoever with puzzles; but they did annoy him quite a bit, so he wasn't exactly thrilled that he first had to deal with several dozen vampires and death hounds, then have a massive spike go clean through his hand, and now he had to solve another annoying puzzle. But this was where whatever treasure the vampires had been seeking was buried, so it was of paramount importance that Aug solve the puzzle, grab the prize, and get the hell out of there and head back to Fort Dawnguard.

Some time later, Aug had figured out the brazier puzzle, and upon pushing the final brazier into position, a result was given. The platform was now glowing with walls of translucent lavender light beams that formed a somewhat-geometric symbol of sorts. Aug felt the ground shaking, and instantly Sulaco and Sephora were in his hands. Aug's attention quickly fell towards the center, where the small pillar was. The ground below it opened, and a large, tall stone sarcophagus rose up from what appeared to be a portal or something. Once the sarcophagus had surfaced, the ground closed back up, and the beams of light disappeared.

Aug slowly stepped towards the coffin, his footsteps echoing across the walls of the massive cavern as he approached. Aug located what appeared to be the front, and he temporarily sheathed the Sephora so he could use his right hand to pull down the stone monolith. When the stone seal came down, what was inside was not what Aug expected.

A woman with beautiful eyelashes and closed eyes was locked up in this sarcophagus. The woman was wearing rather fancy attire that appeared to be a higher-quality version of the vampire light armor that all of his previous kills had been wearing, her long, silky hair was black as midnight, with interesting-yet-stylish weaves along the back of her hair, her cheeks and face were smooth and practically flawless, and her skin was unusually pale. The woman dropped out of the coffin, down at the feet of Aug, who was speechless. The woman stood back up, rubbing her head which she had unintentionally banged on the ground, and looked around the cavern before looking at Aug.

"Ugh, who is... who sent you here?" the woman asked, her voice rather enticing, inviting, and calming.

"A man named Isran" replied Aug.

"Isran? I don't know who that is", said the mysterious lady. "Is he... like me?"

"What do you mean, 'like you'?" Aug asked, slowly raising his axe in suspicion.

"A... can't you tell from looking at me? A vampire", the woman replied, not showing any fear of Aug.

This vampire was different than the bloodthirsty savages Aug had spent the night murdering. She was sophisticated, casual, calm, and was trying to have a normal conversation with the man that might be there to slay her. Because of this, Aug didn't kill the woman, so he ended up lowering his weapon.

"The Dawnguard would want me to kill you", said Aug.

"Not fond of vampires, are they? Well look: kill me; you've killed one vampire, but if people are after me, there's something bigger going on. And I can help you find out what it is."

Aug nodded. "I was sent here to destroy you and the rest of these things, but I... I just cannot bring myself together to hurt you."

"Well, that's sweet of you", said the woman, "And it makes me feel a whole lot safer, for real."

"Where do you need to go?" asked Aug.

"My family used to live on an island to the west of Solitude. I would assume that they still do."

"Then we're off", Aug said. "Do you need a weapon, uh...?"

"Serana. Nice to meet you, too. What's your name?"

Aug hesitated for a moment, then said, "Ghost".

"Pleasure to meet you, Ghost."

"How long were you in there?" Aug asked.

"Good question", said Serana, tapping her chin. "Hard to say. I can't really tell; it feels like it was such a long time ago. Who is Skyrim's High King?"

"That's actually a matter of debate", Aug replied, remembering the murder of High King Torygg.

"Oh, wonderful", said Serana, "A war of succession. Good to know that the world didn't get boring while I was gone. Who are the contenders?"

"The Empire supports Elisif the Fair, but there are many in Skyrim that swear loyalty to Ulfric Stormcloak", Aug explained, having limited political knowledge.

"Empire?" Serana asked. "What Empire?"

"The... Empire. From Cyrodiil."

"I must've been gone longer than I thought", said Serana. "Definitely longer than we planned. Please, we need to hurry. I need to get home so I can get a better sense of what's going on."

"Is that an Elder Scroll?" Aug asked out of curiosity upon noticing the large Elder Scroll slung around Serana's back.

"Yes, it is, and it's mine", said Serana.

"Why do you have an Elder Scroll?" Aug replied.

"It's... complicated", Serana sighed. "I'm sorry, but I just can't really talk about it."

"Well let's get moving", said Aug, "We need to get you back home before more of these freaks show up."

"Ghost, can you please not say that?" Serana asked, "I just kind of take offense to that."

"Oh, I'm sorry", Aug said. "I didn't mean to- I like you, and you're unique. Which is good, very good. Maybe not all vampires should be destroyed."

"Thank you", Serana smiled, pulling out her dagger. "Any ideas on how to get out?"

Aug shrugged. "I came over from here, so I guess that this other bridge leads to an exit. Let's move like we've got a purpose."

"Sure", Serana smiled. "Oh, and uh, Ghost?"

"Are you alright?" Aug asked, turning around to look at Serana.

"Yes, I'm fine, and... I just want to thank you for treating me nicely, like I'm a person; not a stereotypical vampire obsessed with feeding on the souls of the living and the dead.

"Sure thing, Serana. Now I guess you want to go home, so let's get moving."


End file.
